First Picture with My New Nikon D3100

In the years that we’ve been geocaching, we’ve seen some awesome places and sights. The real prize is getting that special view that only presents itself for a very short time. Clouds, color, wind, sun, light, shadows, fog, precipitation and ground cover can combine in infinite ways to present a unique natural canvas that is gone in seconds. We’ve been lucky enough to see a number of those and catch them on camera. Unfortunately, cameras have not been our strong suit or a priority. So we’ve lost or missed some really good stuff that we’ll most likely never see again. We always vowed, “We’re getting a better camera.” I’d check cameras, choke on the price tag (over $1000) and that would be the end of the new camera vow. That changed when we cruised to Hawaii.

My first picture with the new Nikon D3100 SLR – Ninini Point Lighthouse. Taken at daybreak from the balcony of our cruise ship as we entered Nawiliwili Bay in Kauai.

We left port with our trusty old picture-losing Sony point’n’shoot. As we got close to the islands, I started having second thoughts about this camera business. We took the old Sony up to Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. There were some great shots that we simply couldn’t get. So here we are, spending thousands of dollars on this Hawaiian cruise and taking pictures with a four year old $200 camera.

I always said I would never buy anything on a cruise ship. They’re like a bunch of grifters always hawking something at exorbitant prices. We got back to the ship, dropped our stuff and went straight to the camera store. A very knowledgeable (and patient) young lady spent over an hour with us as we looked at everything they had. In the end, they made us an offer we couldn’t refuse on a Nikon D3100 SLR package.

The next morning, I was up at the crack of dawn taking pictures from our stateroom balcony. My first keeper was the shot in this post. Taken right at sun up, you can almost see the clouds moving, feel the wind blowing and hear the waves crashing. We’ve got an 8×10 framed on our wall.

The rest of our Hawaiian photos, including the ones in our previous posts, were taken with the new Nikon. The picture quality, even with the basic settings I’m using, is light years ahead of what we’ve been doing. This one was the first keeper.

About the Image

There are 12 random header images that change with every click (most of the time). Each one has a caption that identifies it. All these places were geocache locations. The photos were taken by yours truly. Enjoy.